Canada Race Round 7

Rain ahead?

There are spots of rain forming on the track and driver visors. Its windy and cold and the chance of rain is just 40%.

Tyre choice

Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen are starting on the Soft tyre with Jenson Button and Rio Haryanto starting on the Super Soft tyre.

Race

The lights go green and Sebastian Vettel gets a great start from 3rd, jumps Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and leads into turn 1. Hamilton and Rosberg are side by side as they enter turn 1 with Hamilton on the inside, they both touch and Rosberg momentary takes to the grass and by the end of lap 1, he’s 10th. Vettel leads ahead of Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen and Valterri Bottas. Lap 6, Rosberg is now right behind Nico Hulkenberg in 8th. While the gap from Vettel in front to Hamilton behind is only 1 second.

Lap 9, there is a train of cars forming behind Fernando Alonso including team-mate Jenson Button, Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz. Lap 11, Button has has come to a stop on the back straight at a marshal post and their is fire coming from back of the McLaren Honda car.

Interesting pit strategy from Ferrari at lap 11 when they pit Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen and both go onto the Supersoft tyre. Lap 12, Hamilton now leads ahead of Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel and Valterri Bottas. Lap 17, Vettel is right behind Ricciardo and Verstappen and overtakes Ricciardo into turn 10. Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kvyat and Jolyon Plamer pit and all go onto the Soft tyre. Not Palmer though, the Renault pit crew push the car into the garage and into retirement.

Lap 18, Sebastian Vettel overtakes Max Verstappen into turn 13 and is up to 2nd. Lap 21, Verstappen pits and goes onto the Soft compound tyre. More importantly, Verstappen appears out ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Lap 22, Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Rosberg pit and both go onto the Soft tyre. In his efforts, Ricciardo has not jumped Raikkonen and has appeared behind him. Lap 23 and 24, both Williams cars of Felipe Massa and Valterri Bottas pit for the Soft tyre. Lap 24, race leader, Lewis Hamilton pits and goes onto the Soft tyre.

Lap 31, Kimi Raikkonen now has Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Rosberg right behind him. Lap 34, Raikkonen has had enough of these tyres and pits and goes onto the Soft tyre. Lap 36, Sebastian Vettel has a 10 second gap to Lewis Hamilton in 2nd. Vettel needs a bigger gap to have a really good chance of catching Hamilton at the end. Lap 37, Vettel pits and goes onto the Soft tyre. Now he has to chase down Hamilton if he wants to win. Felipe Massa pulls into the pits and retires for Williams on lap 37. Lap 39, Daniel Ricciardo pits and he is told the reason for why he had to pit was that the he a slow front right. Which is the first stage of a puncture.

Lap 46, Max Verstappen pits and goes onto the Ultrasoft tyre. Lap 50, Sebastian Vettel has slowly closed the gap to Lewis Hamilton in front and the gap now is just over 5 and a half seconds. Lap 52, Nico Rosberg pits and goes onto the Soft tyre after a slow right rear puncture. Lap 55, Rosberg has caught and now passed Daniel Ricciardo into turn 13. Lap 56, Sebastian Vettel has still got a 5 second gap to race leader, Lewis Hamilton. Lap 58, Rosberg has now overtaken Kimi Raikkonen into turn 13 and is up to 5th. Lap 62, Rosberg is now under 1 second behind max Verstappen in 4th. Lap 69, Rosberg is desperately trying to overtake Verstappen and tries to go round the outside of Verstappen into turn 13. But Rosberg gets a couple of wheels on the grass and half spins across the chicane. Lap 70, Lewis Hamilton wins ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Valterri Bottas.